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The Life and Services 



OF 



^ Shelby M. CuUom 



By 

HENRY A. CONVERSE 

Of the Sangamon County Bar, Springfield 



Reprinted from the Transactions of 

the Illinois State Historical 

Society, 1914 



[Printed by authority of the State of Illinois.] 



The Life and Services 



OF 



Shelby M. Cullom 



By 
HENRY A. CONVERSE 

Of the Sangamon County Bar, Springfield 



Reprinted from the Transactions of 

the Illinois State Historical 

Society, 1914 



[Printed by authority of the State of Illinois.] 



Springfield, III. 

Illinois State Journal Co., State Printers. 

19 16 



<%^ 



THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF SHELBY M. CULLOM. 



(By Hexky a. Converse, of the Sangamon County Bar, Springfield.) 

The year 1830 ushered in an era of great industrial activity in the 
United States. On November 2 of that year the first American railroad 
train made a trial trip from Schenectady to Albany, in the State of 
jSTew York, a distance of seventeen miles. This diminutive and experi- 
mental forerunner of modern methods of transportation was hauled by 
a mere pygmy of a locomotive bearing the dignified and somewhat high 
sounding name, "Dewitt Clinton," having been named in honor of an 
early distinguished Governor of the Empire State. Within the space 
of half a century, the inventive and financial genius of our people had 
so developed the steam locomotive and the railway that by leaps and 
bounds railway mileage was increased to thousands and our nation, 
throughout its length and breadth, was indissolubly bound together by 
the great shining artificial channels of commerce, the American railway 
systems. It was the development of rapid transportation by means_ of 
tiie railroads that did more than any other agency in making our nation 
commercially one. It was the railroad that opened up and settled the 
prairie and forest. Over these highways were transported from the 
sea coast to the interior, all those blessings and comforts that go to 
make for the prosperity and well-being of a civilized and educated people. 

The nation, the states and the smaller subdivisions of government 
all vied one with another in aiding and encouraging the building of 
railroads. Rights of Avay, vast tracts of land, and large sums of money 
were donated to the railroad builder. The credit of states and counties 
was pledged to promote this industry and vast issues of bonds were voted 
to carry on the good work. 

At last the inevitable happened. The railroad systems when they 
had waxed fat and powerful, from the lavish generosity of the people, 
ceased to be disinterested benefactors and became benevolent monarchs 
and finally grew arrogant and tyrannical. 

The people suddenly realized that they were entangled in the meshes 
of a vast network so interwoven that it could contract and strangle whole 
communities, that in order to further their own selfish ends the heads of 
the great railway systems could arbitrarily foster or destroy whole indus- 
tries, and that favored individuals and localities could get such special 
privileges that competitors would be forced out of business. The vast 
business of the railroads was interstate, and under our National Consti- 
tution the individual states could not cope with this commercial monster. 
The question was momentous. To solve this great problem so that both 
the people and the railroads would get their rights without a financial 
upheaval called for statesmanship of the highest order. The time was 
ripe for a man, wise, discreet and foresighted, one who was courageous 



enough to undertake a battle along the only line that could surely solve 
this troublesome question, the regulation of railroads engaged in inter- 
state commerce. 

In the year 1830, the same year that the "Dewitt Clinton" so bravely 
pulled the first American railway train, a man child, less than one year 
old, was brought by his jDarents from Wayne County, Kentucky, to Taze- 
well County, Illinois. This babe was named Shelby, after Governor 
Shelby, an early and distinguished Governor of the state of Kentucky. 
This babe grew to manhood, nourished and hardened by the clean, 
frugal, open air life of the Illinois prairie. 

After half a century of industry and training, at the bar and in 
public life, in that most interesting period of our State's history, we 
find him a matured and trained lawyer, a successful politician, honored 
by his State as its Chief Executive. As Governor we find him studying 
and solving the question of railroad regulation. We see him step from 
the Governor's office into the United States Senate. At once he brings 
to that distinguished body his experience in railway legislation, and, 
within four years after entering the United States Senate, he writes 
upon our JNational Statute books the most constructive and progressive 
economic act ever passed by our National Legislature, "The Act to 
Eegulate Interstate Commerce," commonly known as the "Cullom Act." 
The passage of this act of Congress is generally looked upon as the 
crowning piece of work in the career of Shelby M. Cullom. It will be 
in connection with this great law that his name will go down in history. 
The act was constructive because it curbed a great industrial evil without 
injury to the rights of property. It created an eminent tribunal which 
felt its way so carefully and administered its duties so wisely that Con- 
gress gradually added to its powers until finally the great interstate 
railway systems have been brought to the realization that they are public 
servants and not commercial masters. The act was progressive because 
it was the first real act of Congi'ess exercising the power to regulate 
commerce among the States, a power that had lain dormant for practi- 
cally one hundred years. It blazed the way for the passage of numerous 
acts based upon the National power to regulate commerce among the 
states, until this power is recognized as the seat of most of the authority 
in Congress to legislate for our commercial and industrial welfare. The 
free exercise of this power has made us one people, commercially, and 
has completely laid the very ghost of State's Eights. 

The subject of this sketch, Shelby M. Cullom, has been presented 
thus far, by a portrayal of the accomplished act of a matured man. The 
purpose in thus presenting the subject is, that we may have clearly in 
mind a full realization that this noble son of Illinois, who has but a few 
days since passed to the great beyond, this man whom many considered 
behind the times, one of the old guard, a practical politician of the old 
school, a time serving office holder, possibly lacking in initiative, was 
in fact a great public spirited soul, who patiently, ploddingly and cour- 
ageously, almost single handed, attacked in its stronghold one of our 
most strongly entrenched special interests, made that special interest 
amenable to the law and emancipated a people who were on the verge of 
industrial slavery. Having thus given our subject a stage setting, as it 
were, let us examine further into the acts and doings of our fellow 



citizen, and we will find that in private life, at the bar, in the legislative 
halls, in the executive chair, he moved steadil}' forward, ever "at work, 
always accomplishing something worth while, clean in public and private 
life, honored and respected by his fellow man, by his public services a 
public benefactor. 

Shelby Moore Cullom was born in Wayne County, Kentucky, Xovem- 
ber 22, 1829. He died at Washington, D. C, January 28, 1914. He 
was the seventh child resulting from the marriage of Richard Xorthcroft 
Cullom to Elizabeth Coffey. The elder Cullom moved his family to 
Tazewell County, Illinois, in 1830. 

Shelby M. Cullom received such a common school education as the 
limited facilities of a rural community then afforded. As the result of 
teaching school for two terms and farming for himself he succeeded in 
securing enough funds to take a two-year course at Mount Morris Semi- 
nary. It was here that he met and formed a lifelong attachment for 
the distinguished Illinoisan, Eobert E. Hitt. 

Young Cullom by reason of his clean, open air life was vigorous and 
strong although tall and spare. In traveling from Tazewell County to 
Mount Morris he underwent such an exposure and strain that he seri- 
ously impaired his health and from that day to his death he had a 
veritable thorn in the flesh. The trip from Peru to Dixon was by stage 
coach. A terrific snow storm came up and the driver could not follow 
the road. Young Cullom went ahead of the horses to lead the way. In 
the struggle through the blinding storm he overtaxed his heart, the over- 
exertion causing what is known as a leaky heart, an affliction which 
during his long life frequently subjected him to fainting spells, greatly 
to his embarrassment. For many years prior to his death, while he was 
actively engaged in public life, or in the stress of a political struggle, 
his close friends w'ere in constant alarm lest one of these fainting spells 
would carry him off. ^ 

After completing his education young Cullom determined to follow 
his ambition to practice law and came to Springfield, the State Capital. 
He sought permission to read law in the office of Abraham Lincoln, but 
Mr. Lincoln at that time was absent from his office so much, riding the 
circuit, that he advised young Cullom to enter the office of Stuart & 
Edwards, which he accordingly did in the year 1853. In 1855 Mr. 
Cullom was admitted to the bar and shortly after his admission was 
elected to the office of city attorney of Springfield. He was soon busily 
engaged in the local courts prosecuting violations of the local ordinances. 
The majority of his cases grew out of the illegal sale of intoxicating 
liquors, a decidedlv disagreeable class of practice, but a wonderfully 
fertile field for the study of all phases of human characters. 

His first partnership was with Antram Campbell, but this business 
relation was of short duration. In 1861 he formed a partnership with 
Milton Hay, one of Illinois' most distinguished lawyers. The firm of 
Hay & Cullom continued until 1867, and during its existence it enjoyed 
a lucrative and extensive practice in the State and Federal courts. The 
mere fact that young Cullom was taken in as the junior member of this 
firm, by ]\Iilton Hay, is all the proof that is necessary to establish the 
fact that Cullom had talent, energy and integrity. Milton Hay knew 
men and he would not tolerate for a moment a fraud, a sluggard or a 



6 

dullard. Mr. Hay could choose where he pleased and he demanded and 
drew to him men worth while. Mr. Cullom next formed a partnership 
with Charles S. Zane, who was elected Circuit Judge shortly before Mr. 
Cullom became Governor. In 1883 Judge Zane was appointed Chief 
Justice of the Territory of Utah, Senator Cullom securing his appoint- 
ment, where he made an enviable record as a fearless and just judge. 

As a lawyer Mr. Cullom was energetic, painstaking and devoted to 
his client. He was not an orator in the ordinary sense of the term. He 
did not seek to sway the court or jury by high-sounding phases, but 
preferred rather to know his subject from every angle and then present 
it with the power of conviction. He was a forceful and convincing 
speaker, simple and pleasing in expression, appealing always to the heart 
and the head, but never to the prejudices. He outlived by many years 
his friends and associates at the Sangamon County Bar. 

A partial list of those eminent men with whom he associated 
includes the following sons of Illinois : 

Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Stephen T. Logan, John 
T. Stuart, Benjamin S. Edwards, John M. Palmer, David Davis, 0. H. 
Browning, Edward D. Baker, Milton Hay, William H. Herndon, Eichard 
Yates, James C. Conkling, Henry S. Green, and John A. McClernand. 
To have the esteem and friendship of such a galaxy of legal stars 
is proof conclusive that Shelby M. Cullom ranked high at the central 
Illinois bar. Some of those great men were Cullom's political backers 
in the early days, seme of them were for him from city attorney to 
United States f^'^^nator. -"Some of them were his political opponents and 
some were defeated by liim at the polls. 

The legal education and experience of Senator Cullom were of great 
assistance to him in later years, in executing the great public trusts that 
were imposed upon him. His intimate association with Milton Hay, 
John T. Stuart and Benjamin S. Edwards taught him to be discreet and 
cautious, to weigh well his words and acts. From these men he learned 
the value of sound and matured judgment. It was characteristic of Mr. 
Cullom, that while he always reserved the privilege of making up his 
own mind, he was ever ready to accept and profit by the advice of those 
whom he recognized as men of discretion and sound judgment. He was 
never swayed by the opinion of the mere lip talker. 

It is remarkable that Mr. Cullom gained any particular recognition 
at the bar, because of his early and active interest in politics. The law 
is a jealous mistress and political activities soon compelled Mr. Cullom 
to give up active practice of the law. It was but natural that one pos- 
sessed of such a bent for politics should so readily take up this most 
alluring science. In the early days the law was the most convenient 
stepping stone to political preferment. 

Wiien Mr. Cullom was admitted to the bar, in 1855, a great new 
political party was just coming into existence. The whole country was 
smouldering, about to blaze up with the fires of civil war. Great con- 
stitutional questions were being discussed by the judges and laymen. All 
eyes were turned toward Illinois. In the United States Senate we had 
Stephen A. Douglas, the Little Giant, the champion of States Eights. 
Young Cullom was not thirty years of age when our whole nation was 
stirred to its very soul by the debates between Lincoln and Douglas. Xo 



wonder that the young city attorney, fresh from his victory at the polls, 
so soon after his admission to the bar, should dash into the political 
arena. 

In his book, "Fifty Years of Public Service," Senator Cullom speaks 
of his entry into politics as follows : 

"Having been inducted into the office of City Attorney I was fairly 
launched upon a political career, exceeding in length of unbroken service 
that of any other public man in the country's history. In fact, I never 
accepted but two executive appointments, the first was an unsought 
appointment by Abraham Lincoln, after he had become the central 
figure of his time, if not all time, and second, an appointment from 
President ]\IcKinley as chairman of the Hawaiian Commission." 

Possibly Shelby M. Cullom may have inherited a taste for politics. 
His father/ Eichard N. Cullom, represented Tazewell County in the 
State Legislature four terms, as a member of the House of Representa- 
tives in the Tenth General Assembly, convened at Vandalia, as a mem- 
ber of the Senate in the Twelfth and Thirteenth General Assemblies 
and as a member of the House of Representatives in the Eighteenth 
General Assembly, the last three terms being served at Springfield, the 
new State Capital. The elder Cullom had but scarcely left the legisla- 
tive halls ere the younger Cullom appeared as Representative from 
Sangamon County, in the Twentieth General Assembly, having been 
elected in the fall of 1856 by a local coalition of the American and 
Republican parties. This same year he was a ca:;didate as a Fillmore 
elector, but was defeated. He was again elected to the Twenty-second 
General Assembly in 1860 as a Republican, the same Vear that Mr. 
Lincoln was first elected to the Presidency, receiving a larger popular 
vote in Sangamon County than did Mr. Lincoln. In the Twenty-second 
General Assembly young Cullom was signally honored by election as 
speaker of the House, a great honor for a young lawyer but thirty-one 
years of age. 

It was while acting as Speaker, on April 25, 1861, he introduced 
to the General Assembly, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, who appeared to 
make his famous address in which he urged all his friends to set aside 
party prejudice and come to the rescue of Mr. Lincoln and preserve the 
Union. This was one of the great events in Illinois history and Senator 
Cullom always delighted in telling of the wonderful magic of Senator 
Douglas's oratory. As an adherent of President Lincoln, Mr. Cullom 
was none too friendly to Senator Douglas, but when he heard that great 
patriotic address, all antagonism to the Little Giant of Democracy was 
swept away forever. 

After the session of 1861 Mr. Cullom was a candidate for delegate 
to the State Constitutional Convention but was defeated. He again 
suffered defeat in 1862 as a candidate for State Senator. These two 
defeats, together with his defeat at the primaries for renomination for 
United States Senator in 1912, were the only defeats he ever suffered 
at the polls, the early defeat as a Fillmore elector not being a personal 
defeat. The defeat "in 1862. however, was anticipated and Mr. Cullom 
purposely courted defeat to accomplish a rather shrewd political coup. 

Having been elected to the Legislature at the same election when 
Mr. Lincoln was chosen President, he desired to be a member of Con- 



gress during the presidency of Mr. Lincoln. The congressional districts 
were reapportioned as a result of the census of 1860, and Mr. Cullom 
as speaker so brought it about that Sangamon County was placed in a 
Eepublican Congressional District, and declared himself a candidate for 
Congress as a Eepublican for the election to be held in 1862. iVt the 
earnest solicitation of Mr. Leonard Swett, however, whom he greatly 
admired, he j^ielded the nomination to Mr. Swett, who was defeated. 
To keep himself in touch with the voters Mr. Cullom ran for the State 
Senate, although the four counties comprising the Senatorial District 
were strongly Democratic. By thus keeping himself in line he was able 
to secure the nomination and was elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress 
in 1864. He was reelected to Congress from this the Eighth Con- 
gressional District in 1866 and again in 1868. Thus he brought about 
his election to Congress while Mr. Lincoln was President by creating for 
himself a Congressional district, so Gerrymandered as to give his party 
sufficient strength to elect its candidate. 

It is most interesting to observe that in 1861: Mr. Cullom defeated 
for Congress John T. Stuart, and in 1868 he defeated Benjamin S. 
Edwards, both opponents being his law preceptors when he entered the 
law office of Stuart and Edwards as a student in 1853. 

Before Mr. Cullom went to Congress he was appointed by President 
Lincoln in 1862 on a commission with Governor George S. Boutwell 
and Hon. Charles A. Dana to go to Cairo and settle claims against the 
Government for property purchased by commissary officers and quarter- 
masters in the volunteer service. Judge Stephen T. Logan had orig- 
inally been appointed on this commission bijt could not serve and Mr. 
Cullom was appointed as his successor. It was a distinct honor to young 
Cullom to be appointed to serve with such distinguished gentlemen, and 
it was a great compliment to one so young, to be selected by the Presi- 
dent to succeed so able a man as Judge Logan. 

In Congress Mr. Cullom became intimately associated with James 
G. Blaine, Roscoe Conkling, General John A. Logan, E. B. Washburn, 
Thaddeus Stevens, James R. Garfield, William B. Allison, S. S. Cox, 
and many other famous men. Here he formed a great attachment for 
William B. Allison, a firm friendship that continued all through the 
long senatorial career of Mr. Allison as ITnited States Senator from 
Iowa. 

Allison and Cullom were the campaign managers for Mr. Blaine 
when he was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 
Forty-first Congress, and it was generally thought that Mr. Blaine would 
give Mr. Cullom considerable recognition in the matter of committee 
assignments. In this respect Mr. Cullom and his friends were doomed 
to considerable disappointment. Mr. Allison fared but little better. 

The attempt of Mr. Cullom to serve a fourth consecutive terrn in 
Congress was a failure, as he was defeated for the nomination by Col. 
Jonathan Merriam. Mr. Merriam. however, was defeated by Col. James 
C. Robinson, the Democratic candidate. Sangamon County continued 
to be in a Democratic district from that time until Major James A. 
Connolly was elected as a Republican in 1894. The result was that 
Mr. Cullom was the only Republican who could successfully carry 



the Congressional district which he so carefully laid out as his own 
"preserves. 

x\fter being retired from Congress Mr. Cullom decided to give up 
politics and enter the business world. Shortly afterwards he became 
president of the State National Bank at Springfield, Illinois. At this 
time there was launched a spirited movement to remove the State Capital 
from Springfield. To combat this movement Sangamon County wanted 
able men. Accordingly Mr. Cullom was prevailed upon to be a candi- 
date for the Legislature. He was elected and had for colleagues from 
this district, his old law partner, ]\Iilton Hay, and Hon. Alfred Orendorff, 
a rising young Democrat. 

It was with the greatest dilBculty that Mr. Hay was induced to 
become a candidate or stay in the race. This was the first campaign 
in which the voters could cast three votes for a candidate, the system 
that is known as plumping. Mr. Hay continually complained that Cul- 
lom was such a smooth hand at politics that he would get so many 
plumps that he, Hay, would get badly left. Mr. Hay practically with- 
drew as a candidate on numerous occasions until finally Governor Eichard 
J. Oglesby, who was a candidate for United States Senator, made such 
a personal appeal that Mr. Hay consented that his friends might go 
ahead with the campaign. When Mr. Cullom saw how fearful Mr. Hay 
was that too many plumps would be cast for him, Cullom, he put forth 
every effort to get a square deal for his old law partner, and when the 
votes were counted they were scarcely fifty votes apart. 

Mr. Cullom was promptly elected Speaker of the House, and it goes 
without saying that the State Capital was not removed. This was in the 
Twentj'-eighth General Assembly, 1872-1874. Mr. Cullom was again 
elected to the Legislature in 1874, serving in the Twenty-ninth General 
Assembly. At this session of the Legislature he was the caucus candi- 
date of his party for Speaker of the House, but the independents held 
the balance of power and by forming a combination with the Democrats 
elected Elijah M. Haines, Speaker. This was the most notoriously 
do-nothing session of the Legislature in the history of Illinois. Mr. 
Cullom was offered the election as Speaker if he would form a combina- 
tion with the Independents, but he spurned the offer. 

Having reentered politics Mr. Cullom decided to be a candidate 
for Governor. He was nominated as the Republican candidate in 1876 
after a stubborn contest. It was during this campaign that an attempt 
was made to connect him with the notorious "Whiskey Ring" scandals. 
but although every effort was made to involve him and besmirch his 
reputation, he came through the ordeal unscathed and was elected as 
Governor. 

Governor John L. Beveridge. who succeeded Governor Oglesby 
when he was elevated to the United States Senate, was the opponent of 
Mr. Cullom for the Republican nomination. Considerable alleged evi- 
dence was dug up to show that Mr. Cullom had been connected with 
and profited from the notorious "Whiskey Ring'^ which had operated at 
Pekin. Illinois, and defrauded the United States Government out of 
large sums. Mr. Beveridge and his frieiids made continual threats to 
expose him but he went serenely on his way and the proof never mate- 
rialized. After Mr. Cullom was nominated certain affidavits were made 



10 

b}^ persons claiming to have positive proof of his connection with the 
"Whiskey Eing." These affidavits were placed in the hands of Mr. 
Charles B. Farwell, of Chicago, who laid them before Mr. John W. Bunn,' 
who was then chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, and 
demanded that Mr. Cullom withdraw as a candidate. Mr. Bunn called 
the State Central Committee together and notified Mr. Cullom to appear 
before it. Mr. Cullom appeared and when he learned why he was called, 
it is said that he was almost majestic in his wrath. He denounced his 
traducers and chaJlenged them to produce their proof. He was so 
aroused and pugnacious that his warmest friends were fairly astounded 
at his conduct. The charges were immediately dropped and never again 
put in their appearance, although Mr. Cullom continued in public life 
for full thirty years. In the election Mr. Cullom had for an opponent, 
Lewis Steward, who had the nomination on both the Democratic and 
Greenback tickets. The fight was stubbornly fought and it was nearly a 
week after the election before the final returns showed the election of 
Mr. Cullom. He defeated Mr. Steward by less than seven thousand 
votes. 

In 1880 he was reelected Governor, being the first Governor to 
succeed himself. At this election he defeated Lyman Trumbull, who had 
been United States Senator from Illinois when Mr. Cullom was a 
Congressman. 

In 1883 the term of David Davis as United States Senator expired 
and Governor Cullom was elected to succeed him. Governor Richard 
J. Oglesby and General Thomas J. Henderson were candidates against 
Mr. Cullom, but he easily controlled the Republican caucus. The only 
serious question was as to whether or not as Governor he was eligible 
to election to the United States Senate. The preparation of the argu- 
ments to show that Governor Cullom was eligible to this office was 
entrusted to two young men, William J. Calhoun and J Otis Humphrey. 
The right to the office was established to the satisfaction of the Legisla- 
ture and the decision thus gained by these two young men has ever since 
been recognized as the law by the United States Senate in similar cases. 

Senator Cullom succeeded himself as United States Senator in 
1889, 1895, 1901, 1907, serving in all, thirty years. Dtiring all this 
period his colleagues from Illinois were all one termers, that is to say, 
no one of them was able to succeed himself. 

In 1889 Mr. Cullom succeeded himself without opposition. In 
1891 it seemed that he would surely be retired, as the Democratic party 
appeared certain to control the Legislature. Fortunately for Senator 
Cullom, the Republicans controlled the State Legislature and he was 
again returned to the Senate, defeating George E. Adams and George 
R. Davis, both of whom became candidates after it was discovered that 
the Republicans controlled the Legislature. The reelection in 1901 
was secured only after a most spirited contest. The campaign lasted 
for practically two years. As opponents Senator Cullom had Governor 
John R. Tanner, who had just served as Governor of the State, Hon. 
Robert R. Hitt, Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, and Hon. George W. Prince. 
This was his last great fight under the old system. The struggle was 
to control the delegates to the State convention, and to nominate and 
elect friendly members of the Legislature. The friends of Senator Cul- 



11 

lorn controlled the State convention and it endorsed him for reelection, 
but failed to nominate Walter Eeeves, the Cullom candidate for Gov- 
ernor. But the endorsement did not settle the contest. It went on with 
renewed vigor until the meeting of the Legislature. When the Legisla- 
ture convened, the question was still in doubt and it was not until enough 
members of the Legislature had signed an agreement to vote for Mr. 
Cullom that his election was finally brought about. 

This campaign divided the Kepublican party in Illinois into the 
State and Federal crowds and caused so many contests in the various 
conventions and caucuses that it was one of the principal causes that 
brought about the adoption of the State-wide primary law. The contest 
of 1900 and 1901 was bitterly contested to the last ditch because the 
principal opponent of Senator Cullom was the late John R. Tanner, who 
had behind him a solid State organization, built while he was Governor, 
and further, because for many years Governor Tanner had been an 
ardent supporter of Senator Cullom and in previous campaigns had been 
his campaign manager. 

The new alignment of Cullom forces in this campaign brought 
prominentlv to the front as active managers, Hon, J 0. Humphrey and 
Hon. S. H." Bethea, both of whom, afterwards, were appointed as district 
judges on the Federal Bench. The great probabilities are that Senator 
Cullom would have retired from the field and yielded to Governor Tan- 
ner, but for the insistence of his managers and friends. The Senator 
did not relish the struggle with Governor Tanner because he appreciated 
his power as an organizer and knew that he was an adroit and fearless 
antagonist. In previous years he had had Tanner for his right hand 
man" now he had to marshal his forces for a veritable death struggle, at 
least so it turned out to be for Governor Tanner, who did not long 
survive his defeat. 

In 1906 Senator Cullom was compelled to make an entirely new 
kind of a battle. He was compelled to go before the Republicans of 
Illinois in an open primary, seeking the preferential vote of his party. 
This was the first vote of the kind in Illinois. In 1905 the Illinois 
Ledslature passed a primary law providing for an advisory vote on 
United States Senator. The primary election was to be held in the 
spring of 1906. The term of Senator Cullom expired on March 3, 1907. 
It wa"s necessary to start his campaign practically two years before the 
time for his election by the Legislature. It had been intimated in some 
quarters that Senator Cullom won the primary election easily. Such an 
impression is unfair both to the friends of Senator Cullom and Governor 
Yates, who was his opponent. Senator Cullom probably never fully 
appreciated the magnitude of this campaign. He had as an opponent a 
magnetic popular voung man, one who had just made a creditable show- 
ing as Governor and who- was one of the best campaigners in the State. 
The friends of Governor Yates were numerous and devoted. On the 
other hand Senator Cullom was past seventy-six years of age, had not 
been before the people at large for twenty-six years, was in poor health 
and the ireneral belief was that he would not live out his term if elected, 
kany thoucrht that he had been honored enough and that it was time to 
select a voung and coming man. To many. Governor Yates was an 
ideal successor. Further. Governor Yates had the support of the State 



13 

organizatiou, a united and powerful body of men who had served under 
him while he was Governor. In the Eepublican State convention of 
1904 it was Mr, Yates who had brought about the nomination of Gov- 
ernor Deneen. Governor Deneen permitted the friends of Mr. Yates 
to remain in office and gave Mr. Yates his friendly cooperation. Mr. 
Yates made his campaign against Senator Cullom on the grounds of 
Federal interference in State afEairs. The friends of Senator Cullom 
very neatly turned the tables on Mr. Yates by replying that Mr. Yates 
was espousing the doctrine of States Eights, that he had forsaken the 
true doctrines of the Eepublican Party and had gone back to an old 
Democratic doctrine, antedating the Civil War. Of course, this was 
nothing but campaign talk, but it put Mr. Yates at once on the defensive 
and it subjected him to no little embarrassment to be continually called 
upon to prove his loyalty to the Federal Government. He conducted 
a whirlwind campaign, speaking in every county, attracting as usual 
good crowds and receiving most favorable press comments. Again Sena- 
tor Cullom was fortunate in his campaign managers. Down State his 
principal lieutenants were former Lieutenant Governor William A. 
Xorthcott, Charles P. Hitch, John C. Ames, Corbus Gardner, and 
Colonel Frank L. Smith. In Chicago he relied principally upon Ma5'or 
Fred A. Busse and Senator D. A. Campbell. The plan of campaign, 
however, that really won the day was laid out and engineered by Mr. 
Xorthcott, who, as a popular organizer and vote getter, had few, if any, 
equals in this State. The primary law provided for a form of petition 
for the candidate. A Cullom petition was circulated in every township 
and city ward in the State. When completed this petition contained 
practically 130,000 names, the greatest petition ever filed in this State. 
The circulating of this petition required the organizing of a good sized 
army and aroused enthusiasm all over the State. Then an executive 
committee of five was organized in each county, and in turn an execu- 
tive committee of five in each ward and township. When completed this 
constituted an organization of practically 20,000 active Eepublicans. 
By means of these committeemen, names and addresses were secured 
until the Cullom mailing list comprised about 150,000 names. A 
literary bureau was organized that kept all these Eepublicans supplied 
with up-to-date literature and press items. While Governor Yates was 
making great headway with his fiery speeches. Senator Cullom was mak- 
ing quiet but certain progress through his ever-strengthening organiza- 
tion. The primary election was to have been held on the last Saturday 
in April, 1906. and everything was keyed up for action when the Supreme 
Court declared the primary law unconstitutional. 

The Legislature was called together, and on May 23, 1906, a new 
law was passed, in force July 1, following. By this new law the primary 
election was fixed for August 4. The suspense while the new law was 
being passed was fearful, and it was only by heroic efforts that the 
Cullom organization was not going again. At the primary Senator 
Cullom received 158,732 votes and Governor Yates, 113,171. This 
popular vote was so decisive that Governor Yates promptly and honor- 
ably withdrew as a candidate, when the Legislature convened, and 
Senator Cullom was reelected for the fifth and last time. This popular 
endorsement was a great tribute to one who had been so long in public 



13 

office and was no discredit to Governor Yates, but Governor Yates would 
have handily won if Senator Cullom had not, as usual, had lieutenants 
on the ground who could fight in his behalf the right kind of a fight 
at the right time. In this primary fight Senator Cullom was supported 
and returned to office by the sons and grandsons of those who had been 
his loyal supporters in previous generations. In this connection it is 
worth noting that when the joint assembly met to elect Senator Cullom 
for the fifth and last time, he was placed in nomination by Hon. Logan 
Hay, Senator from Sangamon County, son of Milton Hay, the old 
law partner and counselor of the Senator, and grandson of Stephen T. 
Logan, the acknowledged leader of the Illinois bar when Mr. Cullom 
commenced the practice of the law. 

It was while Senator Cullom was serving his last term in the Senate 
that he was called upon to face the greatest crisis of his career, the cast- 
ing of his vote in the contest that was waged against his colleague 
Senator William Lorimer of Chicago. No attempt will be made in this 
memorial to explain away or apologize for the vote of Senator Cullom, 
but rather a conscientious effort will be made to give the situation as it 
was, and then state his views as nearly as they can be gathered from his 
conduct and what he told his friends. 

When Senator Cullom entered upon his last term he had for a 
colleague Hon. Albert J. Hopkins whose term expired March ;!, 1909. 
Senator Hopkins had been a candidate in the Eepublican primary having 
as opponents William E. Mason and George Edmond Foss. Senator 
Hopkins received the plurality party vote and it was supposed that the 
joint session of the Legislature would elect him, as it had in the previous 
election of Senator Cullom. When the Legislature met, Mr. Foss and 
Mr. Mason continued to be candidates, and many members of the Legis- 
lature, contending that they should follow the preferential vote in their 
respective districts and not that of the State at large, refused to vote 
for Mr. Hopkins and a deadlock ensued lasting from January, 1909, until 
May following. From March 3, to May 26th the seat of Senator Hopkins 
was vacant and Senator Cullom was the sole Senator from Illinois. On 
May 26th, fifty-five Republicans and fifty-three Democrats suddenly voted 
for William Lorimer, who had not previously been a candidate, and ]Mr. 
Lorimer was declared elected to succeed Senator Hopkins and forthwith 
took his seat in the United States Senate. 

Nearly a year later on April 30, 1910, the Chicago Tribune pub- 
lished a confession of one Charles A. White to the effect that he and 
several other Democrats, members of the Illinois Legislature had been 
bribed to vote for Senator Lorimer. A resolution to investigate the 
election of Senator Lorimer was introduced in the United States Senate, 
and the committee on elections and privileges conducted extensive hear- 
ings for several months. The Chicago Tribune kept thundering away 
demanding that Mr. Lorimer's seat be declared vacant because of cor- 
ruption at his election. The case became notorious and resulted in a 
terrific exposure of political conditions and practices in Illinois. Several 
other members of the Legislature confessed to having been bribed and 
testified asainst their colleagues only to be denounced and repudiated by 
their fellow legislators and part of the press. Finally the Senate com- 



14 

mittee on elections reported to sustain Mr, Lorimer. Tiie case was 
debated in the Senate from January 22 to February 28, 1911, and on 
March 1 by a vote of 46 to 40 the Senate permitted Mr. Lorimer to 
retain his seat. During all this turmoil Senator Cullom had refused to 
indicate how he would vote, but when the question finally came to a vote 
he voted for Mr. Lorimer. He gave as the ostensible reason for his vote 
that the evidence did not satisfy him that Mr. Lorimer had any personal 
knowledge that his election was corrupt, and further that the committee 
on elections having seen and heard the witnesses and having reported in 
favor of Mr. Lorimer, he felt it his duty to give his colleague the benefit 
of the doubt and follow the recommendations of the committee. By 
thus voting. Senator Cullom lost thousands of his friends, as he knew 
he would, but the people of this State were charitable and his conduct 
was quietly accepted without questioning his motive and integrity. 

Now let us endeavor to analyze the situation as it appeared to 
Senator Cullom. 

At the time he was called upon to cast his vote he was past eighty- 
one years of age. For months he had been importuned by his friends to 
vote both for and against Mr. Lorimer. Most of his old friends and 
colleagues in the Senate, whose judgment he most highly prized were 
friendly to Mr. Lorimer. Some of the men in the Senate who were most 
vigorously denouncing Mr. Lorimer were of the class that he was wont 
to regard as flamboyant and unmindful of the prerogatives and dignity 
of the Senate. To fall in line with these was most distasteful to him. He 
was loath to vote contrary to the findings of the committee on elections, 
because in his day, in the Senate, the report of a committee was of the 
greatest weight and not to be turned down except for the gravest reasons. 
The Senate was largely controlled by its committees, and to this system 
Senator Cullom had for years yielded steadfast allegiance. He had 
risen to his position of influence by committee appointment and service, 
and when his party controlled the machinery of the Senate, he con- 
sidered a committee report almost controlling. The thunderings of the 
Chicago Tribune and its followers fairly disgusted him. He had long 
since rebelled at the modern method of so-called newspaper muckraking, 
and was fearful that the powerful metropolitan press was becoming a 
dictator and instead of molding public sentiment by a fearless and im- 
partial publishing of the news of the day, was becoming so powerful that 
it could combine and ostracize public officials who would not yield to the 
dictations of the press. If he voted against Mr. Lorimer he considered 
that it would be a public confession on his part that his State Legislature 
was corrupt, thereby casting suspicion upon many of his old friends and 
supporters. He was too old to grasp the changed conditions. He had 
heretofore dealt with men as individuals and not in masses. He thought 
that the popular wave against Mr. Lorimer would soon die out. He 
believed that the public had a short memory and would forget but that 
the organization of Mr. Lorimer had a long memory and would never 
forget. He could not bring himself to accept the testimony of self 
confessed bribe takers and affidavit makers. He could not erase from 
his memory the recollection of the men who had made affidavits and 
offered evidence against him in the days of the old "Whiskey Eing" 
scandals. If he voted against Mr. Lorimer he believed that it would be 



15 

claimed that he was dictated to by the press, that he would appear weak 
and subservient and that he would be charged with trying to ride a 
popular wave for his personal advancement. He knew that the popular 
thing to do was to vote against Mr. Lorimer. He questioned the sincerity 
of the attack on Lorimer and thought that if he were unseated, it would 
simply strengthen the opponents of Mr. Lorimer, who in turn would 
advance themselves without the least consideration for him, Cullom, so he 
contented himself with saying, that as a judge the evidence did not con- 
vince him of the personal guilt of Mr. Lorimer and he would follow the 
recommendations of the committee on elections. At last we find the 
man, who for sixty years had read the sentiments of the people of the 
State of Illinois as an open book, failing to grasp the new conditions, 
unable to keep step with the new order of the day. 

The vote seating Mr. Lorimer did not settle the question. The 
people did not and would not forget. Alleged new evidence was dis- 
covered and on June 1, 1911, the United States Senate reopened the 
investigation, the new evidence was heard and the hearings continued 
for another vear. Finally on July 13, 1912, the question was again 
brought to a vote, in the senate and by a vote of 55 to 28 Mr. Lorimer 
was unseated. This time Senator Cullom voted against Mr. Lorimer, 
giving as his reason that the new evidence produced had changed his 
views. 

While the Lorimer investigation was at its height, the term of 
Senator Cullom was fast drawdng to a close. If he was to be a candidate 
again he must submit his name to the primary in the spring of 1912. He 
decided to be a candidate again and his friends once more rallied to his 
cause. He had as opponents Hon. Lawrence Y. Sherman, former 
Lieutenant Governor, and Hon. Hugh S. Magill, a young man of pro- 
gressive tendencies, who had made a fine clean record as State Senator. 
At the primaries on April 9, 1912. Mr. Sherman defeated Senator 
Cullom bv about 60.000 votes and Senator Cullom in turn defeated Mr. 
Magill bv about 40,000 votes. Senator Cullom accepted his defeat grace- 
fully, it was in the following July that he cast his vote against Mr. 
Lorimer. After his defeat Senator Cullom stated that he had entered 
the race reluctantly and only after the urgent solicitation of his friends. 
Just whv he made the race again for a six year term w^hen he was on 
the verge of being eighty-three years of age can not be stated to an abso- 
lute certainty. ISTo "doubt many of his friends did urge him to run 
. again, but the truth probably is that he thought his old organization could 
again carrv the day and he could not give up an ambition which had 
become almost an obsession, to die in the harness as United States 
Senator from the State of Illinois. Many of his friends realized the 
futility of this last race and on several occasions some of them went to 
Washington for the purpose of advising him not to make the race and 
to throw his influence to some strong young man. one of his followers, 
but whenever they undertook to broach the subject the Senator in his 
inimitable way would deftly turn the conversation and no one could ever 
be found who could successfully face the aged statesman and deliver an 
ultimatum. During the entire campaign the Senator continually com- 
plained against being dragged into the fight at his advanced age. but 
his friends bravely went ahead with the campaign knowing all the time 



16 

that they were doing as he wished. Both Mr. Sherman and Mr. Magill 
made state-wide speaking campaigns, while Senator Cullom remained at 
Washington, and it is to the everlasting credit of both of these gentle- 
men that during the entire campaign neither one of them said an unkind 
or harsh thing against the aged man. 

In the fall election of 1913 the Eepublican State and National 
tickets were defeated so that Mr. Cullom, who did not retire until March 
3, 1913, remained in office some months after the Eepublican State 
officers were retired. The Eepublicans did not control the General 
Assembly so Mr. Sherman did not succeed Senator Cullom, but after an 
extended deadlock Mr. Sherman was elected to fill out the unexpired 
term of Mr. Lorimer and Hon. James Hamilton Lewis was elected for 
the full term of six years to succeed Senator Cullom. After serving 
thirty years consecutively as United States Senator from Illinois, Mr. 
Cullom was finally succeeded by a Democrat. 

In addition to keeping his own fences in good repair, Senator Cullom 
and his followers were always in line for the Eepublican ticket, and no 
campaign was waged in Illinois during the last half century in which 
Senator Cullom did not have a distinct part. He always attended the 
party conventions and his lieutenants were always prominent in the 
councils of the party. In 1872 Mr. Cullom was chairman of the Illinois 
delegation to the National Eepublican convention and had the honor of 
placing in nomination for the Presidency General U. S. Grant. Again 
in 1884, 1892, 1904, and 1908, he was a delegate and chairman of the 
Illinois delegations to the Eepublican national conventions. Thus is 
detailed the principal political activities of Shelby M. Cullom. 

For length of service and variety of honors achieved, his political 
record has no equal in the history of our country. 

His political successes were contemporaneous with the successes of 
his party, nay even more, he frequently enjoyed the fruits of victory 
when his party was in the throes of defeat. 

His espousal of the Eepublican party at its inception was accom- 
panied by election to office. He continued to share in all the triumphs 
of his party and did not succumb until his great party had received its 
most crushing defeat, when its foi'ces were divided by the creation of a 
new party. He came on the scene at the birth of a new party. He left 
the stage at the birth of a new party. 

In fullness of years he spanned more than two-thirds of the life of 
our nation. He knew intimately every President from Lincoln to Wil- 
son, one-half of all our Presidents. For more than half a century he 
knew personally every man who reached any prominence in the councils 
of our nation. 

He was a practical politician. He knew the value of patronage and 
secured appointments for men who counted. He was loyal to his friends 
and his friends reciprocated by delivering full measure in his behalf. He 
played the game according to the rules. No doubt he did many things 
which were most distasteful to him, many things which he preferred not 
to do, but he had put his hand to the plow and was determined to plow 
a straight furrow to the end. His political life was one continual battle. 
He stood ever ready to fight his enemies and was compelled to be ever 
on guard against faithless friends. He saw New England States select 



17 

worthy Senators and then return them term after term, without a strug- 
gle, until by length of service they reached positions of influence and 
power. No such honor was accorded to him. No matter what honors 
he achieved, no matter what great laws he got upon our Statute books, 
he came from a westcra state and must ever stand ready to fight for his 
election. While he was at his post of duty his opponents were always 
busy out in the State undermining him and continually seeking to com- 
pass his defeat. His early political training was secured in the school 
founded by Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was the master politician of our 
Eepublic. Cullom knew, as did Lincoln, that to do things for the State 
and the nation, it was necessary, first, to get and then to hold the office. 
To get and to hold public office, one must get votes. To get votes one 
must be a politician and a practical one at that. Our form of govern- 
ment is republican. The citizen at the ballot box is the sovereign. Under 
our S3^stem of government the public office holder and public servant 
must first secure the consent of the sovereign people at the polls. Shelby 
M. Cullom offered himself repeatedly and the people as repeatedly gave 
him the necessary votes. If he would be a statesman he must first be a 
politician. This he knew and this he freely acknowledged. 

Although poor in this world's goods he forged steadily ahead, ever 
ascending, always respected, clean in personal and public life, the acme 
of political success and perfection. Not only was he content to remain 
a man of limited means, but so constituted was he, that the many 
opportunities that came to him to acquire wealth did not tempt him in 
the least nor for an instant absorb his time or attention to the detriment 
of his public service. 

To read the long list of his political successes naturally gives rise 
to the question as to whether or not he stood for things that were for 
the real and lasting benefit of the people, or to hold office did he shift 
with each changing popular whim? Was he a politician simply to be a 
timeserving officeholder, or did he, after he got the office, use it to give 
the people real service, service that would make our country better in 
the years to come, service that would make our people freer and happier ? 
Will he be known to history as America's most unique and successful 
politician, or will he go down in history as a real statesman? 

Let us take a brief survey of the things he accomplished, and pos- 
sibly we may find the answer in the things done rather than in the 
words spoken. 

In his first elective office, that of city attorney of Springfield, he so 
favorably impressed such men as Mr. Lincoln, Judge Logan and others 
that they gave him their support for the Legislature. He so conducted 
himself as a member of the Legislature during his first term, that 
although scarcely thirty years of age he was selected Speaker of the 
House," for his second term, in 1861. Mr. Cullom himself is authority 
for the statement that he made more friends in the conduct of the office 
of Speaker than were ever made by him subsequently in any office or 
service. His conduct as Speaker of the House gave him such standing 
that he was sent to Congress for three successive terms. In these cam- 
paigns many of his most ardent supporters were men who were opposed 
to him politicallv but who supported him because of their faith in him. 

—2 C 



18 

He served in Congress during the days of reconstruction, days that 
were fraught with the greatest peril to our reunited nation. He sup- 
ported the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution. 
He witnessed the struggle between Congress and President Johnson with 
fearful forebodings. Together with Judge Orth of Indiana, he went in 
person to plead with the President to conciliate Congress and avoid the 
dangers of impeachment, but found the President obdurate and self- 
willed. He saw the crisis approaching and counseled earnestly with his 
friends, Senator Lyman Trumbull, James G. Blaine, and others, and 
upon their advice finally decided to vote for the impeachment of Presi- 
dent Johnson. Imagine his surprise when Senator Trumbull denounced 
the impeachment proceedings in the Senate and voted to sustain the 
President. 

In the Forty-first Congress Mr. Blaine cavalierly gave Mr. Cullom 
the choice of the chairmanship of the committee on claims or terri- 
tories. He chose the committee on territories and while serving in this 
capacity he introduced and secured the passage of a bill in the House 
providing stringent measures for the suppression of polygamy. He was 
so intent on stamping out this great evil that subsequently he secured 
from President Arthur the appointment of his old law partner, Charles 
Zane, as Chief Justice of Utah ; and it was the fearless and masterly 
way in which Judge Zane handled the situation that did so much to 
destroy the "twin relic of Barbarism." Thus Mr. Cullom in his prac- 
tical way accomplished his desire by sending directly to the seat of the 
difficulty a man, ready, willing and able to enforce the law as it was 
written. 

After retiring from Congress this lawyer-politician became presi- 
dent of the State National Bank in Springfield. This was certainly a 
distinct recognition of his integrity and standing with the business 
interests of his home city. 

Soon we find him again in the Legislature and Speaker of the 
House. It was while serving in the State Legislature after returning 
from Congress that Mr. Cullom seemed to get a new inspiration to serve 
his State and Nation in a bigger and broader way. Illinois had adopted 
a new Constitution in 1870 and it was while Mr. Cullom was Speaker in 
1873 and 1874 that a complete revision of the State laws was undertaken, 
resulting in the publishing of the "Eevised Statutes of the State of 
Illinois, A. D. 1874." The early 70's witnessed the so-called "Granger 
Legislation" and the construction of State laws for the control of rail- 
road transportation. Illinois at that time was in the forefront in rail- 
road mileage, and' naturally the wave of popular sentiment demanding 
State control and regulation swept over this State. In 1871 our Legis- 
lature passed a law on the subject of railroad regulation but it was 
rather ineffective. 

Speaker Cullom saw the great possibilities in the wise solution of 
this great question and seized the opportunity to make this the ambition 
of his life. He appointed a select committee of the Legislature to draft 
amendments to the law. In the work of this committee he took the most 
intense interest. The committee reported a bill which was passed and 
became the Illinois law on the subject of railroad and warehouses, an 
advanced and highly meritorious law, a law that remained practically 



19 

unchanged until the Eailroad and Warehouse Commission was absorbed 
by the State Utilities Commission in 1914. 

After Mr. Cullom became Governor in 1877 he appointed a new 
and strong Eailroad and Warehouse Commission, which immediately 
went to work under his supervision to carry out, enforce and test the 
workings of the law. 

It was the study of this question of railroad regulation and the 
practical experience in the enforcement of such a law, while he was in 
the Legislature and as Governor, that prepared Mr. Cullom for the great 
work that was to come. In this connection it is interesting to note what 
influences surrounded the Governor, influences of his own choosing, and 
how he proceeded to accomplish the ends he desired. 

Above all he was wise in the counsels he sought. He had for a 
private secretary Mr. E. F. Leonard, a well poised, polished gentleman 
but a few years his junior. Mr. Leonard was more than a secretary ; he 
was a friend and counselor, one who was willing to stay in the back- 
ground; but who gave lavishly of his many talents to the sustaining and 
guiding of his superior. Mr. Leonard was ever on guard and by reason 
of his matured judgment was privileged to press his convictions upon 
the Governor. It is claimed by those in a position to know that to Mr. 
Leonard is due a large share of the credit- for the attitude Governor 
Cullom took towards the railroads. Contrary to his usual conservatism 
Governor Cullom appeared somewhat carried away with the popular cry 
against the railroads and seemed in danger of being too radical. The 
instinct of the politician to please his constituents was strong, but Mr. 
Leonard was the brake on the wheel and his calm judgment kept the 
Governor in check, caused him to make haste slowly. But for this deter- 
ring influence, radical and possibly illy advised steps might have been 
taken, that would have forestalled the accomplishment of the great suc- 
cess in coming years. 

As chief legal advisor. Governor Cullom leaned largely upon Milton 
Hay. When in doubt about a law or legal procedure it was the judgment 
of Mr. Hay that coutrolled. A prominent Chicago lawyer, once seeking 
the support of Governor Cullom for a proposed law, was heard to ask 
repeatedly, "Who is the Governor of the State— Hay or Cullom?" 

In the background w^as John W. Bunn, who at that time was promi- 
nent in Illinois politics, serving repeatedly as chairman and member of 
the Eepublican State Central Committee. In shaping the policies of 
the administration it was the function of Mr. Bunn to sound out and 
find the sentiment of the influences of the State. Governor Cullom was 
big enough and broad enough to rely upon the combined judgment of 
Messrs. Leonard, Hay and Bunn, three eminently successful business 
men, of unquestioned integrity and devoted to his interests. A most 
interesting illustration of how Mr. Cullom relied upon these three friends 
is shown in the great sound money speech that Governor Cullom made 
at Eockford, Illinois. In the seventies one of the catchy new isms of the 
day was the "Greenback" craze. INIr. Cullom had shown some temerity 
in facing this question. In those days it took real courage to come out 
firmlv for sound, honest money. Governor Cullom received an invita- 
tion to speak on this issue at Eockford, but hesitated to accept. He was 
fearful of the results and hated to declare himself. :Mr. Leonard insisted 
that he make the address and take a positive stand. Finally the Gov- 



20 

ernor consented to accept the invitation on condition that Mr. Leonard 
would write the speech. Mr. Leonard prepared the addresses and it was 
gone over line by line, sentence by sentence with Mr. Hay and Mr. Bunn. 
It was an address to the point, without dodging or begging the question ; 
it was for sound, honest money first, last and ail the time. The three 
friends were fearful that the Governor would not have the courage to 
deliver it. On the appointed day the Governor gave the address exactly 
as written. It rang out all over the country and was copied in New 
York and hailed with delight by the opponents of the "Greenback" craze. 
Thus did Governor Cullom array himself on the side of sound money 
and he did not waver from this position during the balance of his days. 
It is but fair to Mr. Leonard, who is still living* an honored and retired 
life at Amherst, Massachusetts, to state that he is not authority for what 
has just been said about him and has not been consulted about thus 
giving him such a share in the administration of Governor Culiom. 

Governor Cullom had served as Governor but six months when the 
great railway strikes were declared in July, 1877. Instantly traffic 
ceased and disorder and destruction of property was imminent. One of 
the worst conditions was at East St. Louis. To this city the Governor 
went in person and tried to relieve the situation by moral suasion, but 
failed. Seeing that it was futile to temporize he called out the State 
troops and soon had the situation in hand. In Chicago he found the 
State troops practically worthless, so he promptly called upon the 
National Government for aid. Upon the arrival of several companies of 
regulars, order was at once restored. Thus we see how he met one of 
the most trying situations that can ever confront a Governor. 

When it came to considering applications for pardons, he instituted 
the practice of publishing in the county where the trial occurred, a 
notice of the application, and also required written statements of the 
trial judge and State's attorney giving their views of the merits of the 
case. This practice has since been extended by the creation of a State 
Board of Pardons, which follows largely the same procedure. 

His administration was strictly a business one. Under his super- 
vision the penitentiary was built at Chester and an additional hospital 
for the insane was constructed at Kankakee. His administration also 
saw the paying off of the last of the State debt. 

He studied the State and its peoples. He became familiar with 
the great families and their descendants who settled the various parts 
of the State. He was able to select representative men who stood well 
in their localities. Having appointed such representative men to office, 
he left them free from executive interference, but held them strictly 
accountable for the trust imposed. Thus he drew to him strong, able 
men and these men of affairs and their descendants became the strength 
and backbone of the so-called Cullom organization that was so effective 
in Illinois for so many years. His administration was rather uneventful 
but eminently successful. He was never embarrassed by any unseemly 
scandals in any of his departments. 

His relations with the Legislature were most friendly, and the 
charge was never made that he, as Governor, ever tried to organize or 
dictate to the Legislature; and yet, it can be safely said, that no Legis- 

*Mr. Leonard died in New York City April 5, 1915. 



21 

lature convened during his administration that was not organized by 
his friends and on a basis entirely friendly to him. So skillful was he 
in handling men and so versed was he in legislative practices, that he 
brought about a friendly organization without his influence being felt 
or suspected. 

When Governor Cullom became United States Senator he had 
already acquired considerable prestige as a national character. Having 
served several terms in his State Legislature and in Congress and 
having been twice Governor of Illinois, he expected some recognition in 
the Senate, compatible with his services. He found, however, like all 
new Senators, he must bide his time and that he could command atten- 
tion only by meritorious service. The caucus of the Senate assigned him 
to the committee on railroads, a purely ornamental committee, having 
practically no excuse for existence other than to furnish a chairmanship 
for one of the majority. Then occurred one of those incidents so rare 
and remarkable but such a source of delight to all students of legislative 
bodies and procedure ; this new Senator by the magic of his genius, took 
this insignificant appointment, this purely hohorary position, and ele- 
vated it and clothed it with power and dignity until in a brief space of 
time, before he had completed his first term as Senator, he reported 
from the committee and had passed through the Senate the Interstate 
Commerce Act, now generally admitted to be the most constructive 
economic act ever passed by Congress. The passage of this act was the 
culmination of the years of struggle and toil, out in Illinois, struggling 
with the great question of railroad regulation commencing, as Speaker 
of the House in 1873. 

The great principles underlying the act are now recognized by 
everyone as self evident; but at the time of its passage it was considered 
by many most able men to be radical and dangerous. 

When Senator Cullom reported this bill from his committee on 
railroads, it created but little stir. It was regarded as a new legislative 
wrinkle that would give its author some notoriety but not worthy of 
very serious consideration. The great conservative, deliberative Senate 
surely would not pass such a measure, striking such a terrific blow at 
the greatest of all vested interests, the American Eailway System. 
Nothing daunted. Senator Cullom secured the appointment of a com- 
mittee to investigate the question throughout the country. He of course 
was chairman of this committee and after taking evidence, prepared the 
committee's report to the Senate, favoring the bill. Then the battle 
began, then the special interests all rallied to the defense of the rail- 
roads, but to no avail. The campaign had been planned by a master 
mind, one skilled in the ways of legislative bodies. At last the bill was 
attacked most fiercely on that ground upon which all great remedial and 
constructive measures are fought, the ground that it was unconstitu- 
tional. Many of the ablest and strongest lawyers in the Senate opposed the 
bill on this"^ ground, when almost providentially, at the very height of 
the battle, the United States Supreme Court on October 25, 1886, 
decided the verv question at issue, in the case of Wabash Eailway 
Companv v. Illinois, reported in 118 U. S., 557. What a remarkable 
coincidence! That this case which decided the law in favor of the con- 
stitutionalitv of the Interstate Commerce Act, should be appealed from 



22 

the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois and should involve the inter- 
pretation of one of the railroad regulating acts, passed when Mr. CuUom 
was Speaker of the House of Eepresentatives, in 1873. In this case the 
National Supreme Court held that commerce among the states could 
be regulated by Congress alone and that the states must keep hands off 
of such commerce even for that portion of the haul within the State 
boundaries. With the law thus settled the opposition to the act became 
purely and simply, the vested interest against the general welfare, and 
the latter won the day. To Shelby M. Cullom and to him alone belong 
the honor and glory of this accomplishment. No one but a strong man 
could have taken a position on a most insignificant committee and from 
the humble position attack so powerful a special interest and defeat it 
in its very citadel. No "one but a genius in legislative procedure could 
have successfully piloted his way to victory with such a momentous issue, 
during his first term in the United States Senate. No one but a man 
of courage would have attempted such a thing, when he knew so well the 
powers that must be overcome. No one but a man of patience, per- 
severance and indomitable stick-to-it-tiveness could have trod the long 
toilsome, tortuous road that lead to -victory. 

Time does not permit a discussion of this law. Suffice it to say 
that this law reinforced by amendments and administration now governs 
in justice two hundred and fifty thousand miles of railway. The law 
was attacked in the courts and gradually the powers of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission were curtailed, by judicial construction, but each 
judicial decision pointed out the necessary remedy ; and Senator Cullom 
was fortunate to remain in the United States Senate to maintain and 
defend this great act until finally, before his death, he saw the law inter- 
preted, amended and clarified until all doubts were swept aside and the 
law now stands supreme, a complete and unassailable act. 

It took more than a generation to accomplish this result. This illus- 
trates a great characteristic of the man. He eked out for the people 
their rights an inch at a time. He got what he could at the start and 
then added to it little by little, untif the people and the railroads were 
educated up to accepting the completed work. The passage of this one 
act, the living and defending it until it was impregnable, is honor enough 
for one man ; but the passing and enforcing of the act did more than 
remedy the mere evils aimed at; it opened a vast field of legislative 
endeavor. It was the first real exercise by Congress of the power to 
regulate interstate commerce. 

Immediately upon the passage of the act the Senate created the 
Committee on Interstate Commerce and placed Senator Cullom in the 
chairmanship. This committee at once took rank as and still is one 
of the greatest committees of the Senate. As chairman of this com- 
mittee Senator Cullom introduced and had passed through the Senate 
another great act, this one a remedial, a humane law, the safety 
appliance law of 1893. This law required interstate railroads to equip 
their cars with automatic couplers and operate their trains with air 
brakes connected with the engines. We hear much today of social justice, 
of legislation to protect the life and limb of the laboring man; and 
theseand kindred subjects are treated as modern and progressive ideas ; 
and vet more than twenty vears a^o. Senator Cullom secured the passage 



33 

and enforcement of an act that has saved untold nunibcrs of lives and 
limbs. 

The mere fact that such an act, requiring such an enormous expendi- 
ture for equipment, could be introduced without unfavorable comment 
is a testimonial to the standing of Senator CuUom. Kare it is, that such 
a bill can ever be introduced in any legislative body without the charge 
that it was introduced as a sandbag and to hold up the corporations. 

The principal energies of Senator Cullom for forty years were along 
the lines of corporate regulations; yet during all that period the charge 
was never made that he was not sincere or that he was seeking personal 
gain. . 

On the heels of the safety appliance act came the act regulating the 
hours of emplo3"ment of employees engaged in interstate traffic, the 
employer's liability act making interstate carriers liable for injury or 
death of employees, all relating to the regulation of interstate railroads. 

A partial list of the great laws following the Interstate Commerce 
Act and based upon the same power which this act invoked, includes the 
following: The Anti-Trust Act, the Anti-Eebating Act, The Act to 
Suppress Lotteries, The Food and Drugs Act, and the White Slave Act. 
Xumerous other acts could be mentioned. All of these acts based solely 
on the power to regulate commerce among the states are constructive and 
progressive. They give extensive powers to our jSTational Government 
and relate to the industrial and moral freedom and welfare of our 
people. They give to the General Government the powers necessary to 
cope with these great questions with which the individual states are 
unable to deal. 

Senator Cullom remained as chairman of the Committee on Inter- 
state Commerce until 1901, when he became chairman of the Committee 
on Foreign Eelations, the most distinguished committee of the Senate, 
remaining however as the ranking member of the Committee on Inter- 
state Commerce. 

He was prouder of his position as chairman of the Committee on 
Foreign Relations than any public service he ever performed. The 
position was highly dignified and the committee composed of Senators 
of the highest standards and ideals. To this committee come for con- 
sideration our relations with foreign nations and all treaties entered into 
by the President. This committee always stands in a highly confidential 
relation to the administration. A partial list of chairmen preceding 
Senator Cullom contains the following names: Barbour of Virginia, 
Henry Clay, James Buchanan, Rives, Benton, Cass, King, Sumner, Han- 
nibal Hamlin, Windom, John Sherman and Cushman K. Davis. 

At one time while Senator Cullom was chairman of the Senate 
committee, Hon. Robert E. Hitt, his old schoolmate, was chairman of 
the House Committee on Foreign Relations, and John Hay was Secre- 
tary of State . Thus we find three distinguished sons of Illinois intimately 
associated in this great branch of Governmental service. 

It was while Senator Cullom was chairman of this committee, 
serving in connection with the Secretaries of State, John Hay and Elihu 
Root, "that the diplomatic service of the United States was reorganized 
and a distinct and new type of American diplomacy was instituted. The 
reorganization completely changed the personnel of our foreign diplomatic 



24 

corps by attracting to the service and a^Dpointing trained men who were 
given an opportunity to rise in the service by demonstrating their merit 
and capacity to serve. The new type of diplomacy had for its watch- 
words "frankness" and the "square deal" — the kind of square deal that is 
illustrated by our paying to Spain $20,000,000 for the Philippines, when 
we were able to take the islands without compensation as spoils of war. 

Time will not permit any detailed account of the numerous and 
important treaties handled by Senator Cullom. 

Suffice it to say that he was most diligent and succeeded in securing 
the ratification of more treaties than was ever secured in an equal length 
of time. 

As chairman of this committee he earnestly supported and had much 
to do with securing the ratification of the treaty with Panama, making 
possible the building of the Panama Canal, thus closely connecting his 
name with the greatest engineering feat of the ages. In this service he 
became greatly attached to Elihu Boot, first, as Secretary of State and 
then as Senator from New York, and frequently expressed his desire to 
see Mr. Boot President of the United States. 

Senator Cullom also served as the third ranking member of the 
Committee on Appropriations and was chairman of the sub-committee 
having in charge the legislative, executive and judicial bill, in which 
capacity he had charge of appropriations amounting to about thirty 
millions of dollars annually. 

Early in his service as Senator -he was chosen as one of the board of 
regents of the Smithsonian Institution, a great national institution 
located in Washington for the diffusion of knowledge among men. Over 
this board the Chief Justice of the United States presides. Mr. Cullom 
enjoyed the honor of this appointment at the hands of the Senate for 
more than twenty-five years. 

At last, by virtue of his long years of service, he became the chair- 
man of the Senate Committee on Committees, To this committee is 
given the power of making the assignment of the various senators to 
the Senate committees. This appointment gave him great distinction 
and much authority over the organization of the party machinery of the 
Senate. 

Aside from his service on these great Senate committees Senator 
Cullom was greatly honored by appointment by President McKinley as 
Chairman of the Commission to visit the Hawaiian Islands which had 
then just been acquired. The other members of the Commission were 
Senator Morgan of Alabama, and Hon. Eobert E. Hitt, Chairman of 
the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The Commission visited the 
Islands for the purpose of framing a law providing for their civil govern- 
ment and defining their relation to the United States. Senator Cullom 
was in charge of the bill recommended by the Commission, which was 
enacted and stands as the organic law of these Islands today. 

In the foreign diplomatic service there are today many men who 
received their appointments by the personal endorsement and solicitation 
of Senator Cullom. So it comes about that, by reason of the many 
treaties ratified during his service and the appointment of his friends 
abroad, his influence is still felt across the seas. 



25 

There is still one other field in which he left his impress. He had 
a large part in the passage of the act creating the Circuit Court of 
Appeals. The Supreme Court of the United States had become so con- 
gested that it was several years behind with its work. Several remedies 
were suggested. Senator Cullom favored the creation of intermediate 
courts modeled largely after the Appellate Court system in Illinois and 
this plan was adopted. Now we have some nine Circuit Courts of 
Appeal hearing hundreds of appealed cases annually and greatly reliev- 
ing the Supreme Court. Here the Senator left his impress, in the field 
of his chosen profession. 

The last activities of Senator Cullom were in connection with the 
building of a great Memorial to President Lincoln. The erecting of 
this testimonial of a grateful people had been his fondest hope for 
several years. His love for the martyred President grew with the years. 
As he advanced in years, like all aged men, he harked back to the early 
days, the days of youth, of energy, of ambition. As he looked back in 
retrospection, the giant form of the Emancipator grew larger and more 
majestic, until the ideal of his youth became the realization of the ages. 
Senator Cullom was the last remaining link, in public life, connecting 
the present day directly with that interval of time when the martyred 
President preserved inviolate the Union of our forefathers. The boy, 
Shelby, when but twelve years of age, had met Mr. Lincoln as a guest 
at his father's house. As he grew to manhood his ambition to study law 
was inspired by the tales of Lincoln and his fellow circuit riding lawyers. 
When he started to study law he sought admission to Mr. Lincoln's law 
office. Subsequently he became a member of the law firm to which Mr. 
Lincoln had belonged. He tried law suits with Mr. Lincoln. In his 
first political campaigns, those for city attorney and member of the 
Legislature, he had the support of Mr. Lincoln. He sat -at the feet of 
Lincoln and heard him deliver the famous "House Divided Against 
Itself" speech. He received appointment at the hands of Mr. Lincoln 
and during his presidency made trips to Washington, where he had the 
privilege of easy access to the White House. In order that he might go 
to Washington and serve in Congress and thus support and defend the 
administration, he carved out of the Illinois prairies a district for him- 
self. For decades after Mr. Lincoln and his associates had passed from 
the scenes, Shelby M. Cullom stood forth strong in the councils of his 
nation, pointed out as one who not only had seen and met Lincoln, but 
as one Avho had enjoyed his friendship and merited his support and 
confidence. 

In his last years in the Senate, Senator Cullom secured an appro- 
priation amounting to two million dollars to erect the ISTational Lincoln 
Memorial. A fitting location and a magnificent design for the monu- 
ment were chosen. March 3, 1913, arrived and found this work unfin- 
ished and Shelbv M. Cullom about to retire to private life. Without 
his knowledge and entirely unsolicited the colleagues of Senator Cullom 
made him the resident Commissioner to supervise the building of the 
memorial. Not only was he appointed as resident Commissioner without 
his knowledge or solicitation, but not one single member of the Senate 
or the House voted against his appointment or raised any objections to 



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